The Difference between the Mahāyāna and the Hīnayāna in Attaining the Path

Eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) is the contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the principle that the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) are without self; it does not involve the eighth consciousness. Realizing the eighth consciousness requires studying and cultivating the Mahāyāna prajñā. After the mind consciousness has acquired a considerable degree of correct prajñā knowledge and view, one must then engage in Chan meditation within meditative concentration (samādhi), investigating the eighth consciousness, in order to attain realization of the Mahāyāna path. The methods and content of practice differ between the Greater and Lesser Vehicles, and after attaining the path, the levels and contents of the mind's emptiness also differ between them. In the Lesser Vehicle, eradicating the view of self means realizing that the five aggregates are empty and without self — it is an emptiness that is merely a kind of "nothingness." The emptiness realized after attaining the Mahāyāna path, however, includes that "nothingness" emptiness of the Lesser Vehicle, and also includes realizing the unique emptiness (śūnyatā) inherent in the eighth consciousness itself — knowing how the eighth consciousness itself is empty, and being able to observe how the five-aggregate body that He gives birth to is also empty. Therefore, the emptiness of the Mahāyāna is more ultimate than that of the Lesser Vehicle, closer to the truth, and better able to reveal the true reality of the dharmadhātu. At the time of attaining the path, the wisdom of the two differs greatly.